


Glorious

by AyuOhseki



Category: Shoujo Kakumei Utena | Revolutionary Girl Utena
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - College/University, Comfort Food, F/F, Fluff, Heartbreak, Matchmaking, Minor Tenjou Utena/Himemiya Anthy, Motorcycles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:35:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28271754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AyuOhseki/pseuds/AyuOhseki
Summary: Written for the Empty Movement Secret Santa 2020 exchange. After getting dumped by her latest boyfriend, broken-hearted college student Wakaba joins her best friend and classmate Utena at a local park to cry and vent. It seems like this beautiful summer day will end up a total waste… until a certain golden-haired motorcyclist revs into her life.
Relationships: Arisugawa Juri/Shinohara Wakaba, Shinohara Wakaba & Tenjou Utena
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	Glorious

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Gasexplosionatthescalpelfactory](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gasexplosionatthescalpelfactory/gifts).



It was a glorious summer day. The sun was shining bright, birds warbled in song, flowers bloomed in profusion, and a gentle breeze kept the heat comfortable. The park was alive with trees and couples, had tables and seats available with huge umbrellas for shade, and was available conveniently off a major road. It was the perfect place to go while on break from love and college, especially when your best friend was in a motorcycle club and could give you a ride.

Wakaba would’ve dunked it all in the trash can if she could. What right did the world have to be so cheerful when she _wasn’t_?

“It’s not faairrrrrrr,” she sobbed directly into the park table. Utena patted her on the shoulder. “I poured so much effort into this romance, so why did he have to dump me?”

“There, there,” Utena, wonderful, beautiful, _taken_ Utena, said sympathetically. “That jerk just doesn’t understand how great you are.”

“Utenaaaaaa,” Wakaba warbled, rising just enough so she could lie on the table with her chin instead of her forehead. “Why do I ever try dating anyone but you?”

“Because I already have a girlfriend?”

Wakaba banged a fist on the table and sobbed anew. “I know that!! You don’t have to rub it in!!”

Utena snatched up the melon cream sodas that nearly topped in the wake of Wakaba’s banging. “Sorry.”

She heaved a sigh. Honestly, she’d already gotten most of her crying out of the way; now she just wanted someone to listen and care. Utena was at least great at that, as long as you were very upfront and clear that that was what you wanted: thus the theatrics. …Well. Maybe some of the theatrics were just Wakaba _au naturale_. But she wasn’t _always_ such a drama queen, thank you very much.

“I just want to find someone nice, and cool, and gorgeous, who’ll love me uncontrollably. Is that so much to ask?” she complained.

“I think it’s the ‘uncontrollably’ part that’s the problem,” Utena, wonderful, beautiful, way-too-honest Utena pointed out. “Didn’t your boyfriend dump you because you finally stood up to him?”

“Yeahhh,” she grumped. She banged a fist on the table one last time and glared up at her best friend. “You should take responsibility, Utena!! I told him off because you told me I should!”

“Yeah, because he was a creep! I’m sorry you got your heart broken, but you shouldn’t settle for a guy who’s all jealous and demanding like that. He barely let you leave the apartment, and you two didn’t even live together, thank god!” She set down Wakaba’s cream soda firmly. “Drink up already. You’ll feel better with something sweet in you.”

Wakaba wiped her face with her handkerchief and had a sulky sip. Infuriatingly, Utena was right: she did feel a little better with a tasty drink. She made short work of the rest.

“Honestly, I’m glad he dumped you,” Utena added, unhelpfully, as she polished off her drink too. A nearby trash can accepted the empty containers. “I was real worried about what he might do if you dumped him first.”

She puffed out her cheeks in irritation. “Mmmph.”

“C’mon, cheer up! This is a chance for you to start over with someone way better. And who knows, maybe they’re right around the corner, just waiting for you to leap into their arms!”

Or that was probably what she said, because half her statement was drowned out by the clattery revving of a motorcycle riding into a parking spot not far from their table.

“THAT! IS SO! OBNOXIOUS!!” Wakaba yelled over the sound of the exhaust. “WHO JUST RIDES A MOTORCYCLE INTO A PUBLIC PARK?!”

“You didn’t mind it when it was you and me,” Utena pointed out.

“THAT WAS YOU AND THIS IS SOME JERK!”

In fact, it was _two_ jerks, one actually driving the incoming new motorcycle and one clutching them as they rode on the backseat. The second was in a cute pink dress with white accents, and even before she took off her helmet, Wakaba knew it was Anthy. Who else had that gorgeous brown skin and a mouse-sized monkey riding on their shoulder?

“Utena!” Anthy called once her purple tresses were free to fly in the breeze. She waved and hurried over.

Utena lit up to see her and took her by the hands. “Himemiya! This is a surprise! What’re you doing here?”

“I heard you’d be here and I had to come by! Chuchu said he missed you too, isn’t that right, Chuchu?”

Chuchu apparently agreed by way of squeaking and offering Utena a half-eaten cracker.

This charmed Utena all the same, if her broad grin was any indication. “Aww, haha! Thanks, Chuchu!” she said as she accepted it.

Wakaba watched the two lovebirds with a scowl, leaning her head on one hand with elbow planted firmly on the table. Normally she got along mostly okay with Anthy and Chuchu, but now was _so_ not the time. Still, she didn’t want to take out her bad mood on her friends, so she glared over at the driver, who’d just finished parking their motorcycle next to Utena’s and was headed this way, helmet still on, dressed in black leathers and tight blue jeans.

…which, okay, whoever this was had an _incredible_ bod, so much so Wakaba was frankly envious, but that totally didn’t justify—

They took their helmet off.

Was she mad about something?? Wakaba thought she might’ve been mad about something, but it drifted away like this absolutely gorgeous woman’s curls drifted down like a perfect waterfall of molten gold around her face and chest. She shook out her bangs, once, twice, and it was like those drills had never been crushed underneath a helmet. How did anyone get hair that perfect?? She must’ve sold her soul to the devil. Droplets of sweat shimmered like angel tears from her flawless skin as she flipped her hair and breathed out a soft _whew_ . Then, cradling her helmet under one arm, she zipped down her jacket—down, down, _down—_ to reveal the celestial voluminosity of her chest. She could seriously be the top model for Bikers Weekly with that incredible hourglass figure.

Wakaba had always been into men and women alike; her best friendship with Utena was pocked with full contact hugs and haha-just-kidding-unless? propositions of marriage. (Alas, Utena had long since upgraded Anthy from her mistress to her legal wife. Sigh. C’est la bummer.) But if she hadn’t, _damn_ if this woman wouldn’t have turned her gay at first sight. Who needed men anyway?

“Sorry for the noise,” the lady said then. “I need to take my girl to the repair shop.” She caressed her motorcycle with one gloved hand. “There’s been a rattle in her throat since this morning.”

“Oh, you aren’t heading out already, are you, senpai?” Utena asked.

“It doesn’t do to let these things linger. I’d have gone already, but someone insisted she needed a ride.” She gave Anthy a wry glance. “Now that that’s done, though—”

“Ooh! Ooh!” Wakaba thrust a hand into the air like she was still in middle school. “I can help you out with that! Utena’s been so into motorcycles since we started university, I learned out to do repairs to help her out!”

Utena perked. “Oh hey, yeah! I’ve got some tools with me, too—you can go ahead and borrow ‘em!”

Anthy smiled. “My, what a lovely coincidence.”

The woman eyeballed her, then looked Wakaba over critically. “Hmm… Well, if you’re good enough for Tenjou, I suppose it won’t hurt to let you do a diagnostic.”

“Yay! Leave it to me!” Wakaba trilled, all but leaping over to her motorcycle.

She nearly got oil smeared all over her cute yellow dress in the process, but she found the problem: someone had stuffed a bunch of acorns, of all things, into the engine. They were really jammed in there, too. It could be a lot worse, and at least it’d been caught early before it could do any real damage, but honestly, who would do this? Wakaba shook her head and carefully cleaned them out.

“It must be the squirrels,” Anthy commented as she worked. “They’re usually aggressive in this area, and are infamous for pulling pranks like this.”

At their feet, as if to demonstrate, Chuchu and a squirrel were playing tug-of-war with one of the discarded acorns. It lasted approximately three seconds before the squirrel ripped it away and dashed off. Chuchu chased it for a few seconds, but when it easily outran him, he jumped up and down yelling incomprehensible tiny monkey words at it.

“Huhh… I didn’t know squirrels did stuff like that,” Utena said wonderingly, seemingly not noticing. Wakaba decided not to worry about it either. “Good for you though, right, Arisugawa-senpai? At least it wasn’t some kind of mechanical failure.”

She shook her head. “Unbelievable. You’re not wrong, though.”

“Can’t you just say, ‘Yeah, I agree,’ like a normal person?” Utena complained.

Wakaba chipped out the last of the acorn bits and lifted her head. “Wait, Arisugawa? As in Arisugawa Juri?”

The golden woman glanced down at her. “Yes?”

“No way!” She shut the engine cover and bounced to her feet. “We went to the same school years ago! We never really talked since we were in different grades, but still. I didn’t recognize you at first! You’re so much more…” Wakaba trailed off. She was about to say, ‘approachable,’ but that wasn’t exactly flattering.

“Approachable?” Juri guessed anyway, a shrewd look in her sea green eyes.

Wakaba blushed. “Ahahaha! Haha… ha…”

“You’ve become much more at peace with yourself over the years, haven’t you,” Anthy remarked. “I can see why Wakaba-san wouldn’t have recognized you at first.”

“It’s all right. I heard all the rumors at the time,” Juri reassured Wakaba with a wry half-smile. “It’s true I was much pricklier back then. I had…” She pressed a hand to her chest, as if over a locket. There wasn’t a bump under her clothes, though, so it couldn’t have been that. “…a lot I felt I needed to prove.”

“You mean disprove,” Utena commented, folding her arms behind her head.

“Yes. Or that,” Juri agreed dryly.

Anthy tilted her head. “Perhaps it’s just my imagination, but you do seem to still carry a note of melancholy with you…”

“Ah. Well. I suppose I’m not at my best right now.”

“No way! You look so put-together,” Wakaba protested.

“Do I? I suppose I have years of experience with hiding my feelings.” She glanced away as she brushed her ringlets to one side. “…To tell you the truth, an important relationship of mine just recently came to a sour end.”

“NO WAY! I just had a bad break-up too!!” Wakaba slumped with her whole body. “Isn’t it the worst feeling? Getting dumped is the absolute most awful experience… Not that I bet anybody’s dumping _you_ ,” she added.

“You’d lose that bet. I was the one who got cut off this time.”

She straightened. “Really?! Oh no, that sucks…!”

“ _You_ got dumped?” Utena said, eyebrows rising. “That’s a surprise. Whoever it was must be a real dunce to let a catch like you go.”

Juri’s lips thinned. “Perhaps.”

“She’s right, though!” Wakaba insisted. “D’you like crêpes, Juri-san? We should go out and get some together to cheer up. We’re better than those jerks who broke our hearts!” She nodded firmly, then leaned in, sparkling with hope. “What d’you say?”

Her expression softened as she gave her a slight smile. “Hmmm… That might not be a bad idea. At the very least, I owe you some thanks for saving me a trip to the repair shop.” She brushed her hair back, then offered Wakaba a hand to shake. “As you already know, I’m Arisugawa Juri. And you are…?”

“Wakaba!” She grabbed Juri’s hand and shook it firmly. As she figured, Juri’s hands were silky smooth and strong as iron. “Shinohara Wakaba!”

She chuckled. “You have such a lively friend, Tenjou.”

Utena grinned. “Yeah, Wakaba’s the best friend anyone could have.” She winked at Anthy and added, “After Chuchu, of course.”

Wakaba spun around and planted her hands on her hips. “Why do I lose to a monkey?!”

Utena held her hands out in protest, but didn’t stop grinning. “Hey, I’m just saying it how it is. That’s not my fault.”

And Anthy just _had_ to giggle in response. Even more aggravating, Chuchu, who’d returned to her shoulder at some point, seemed to be laughing along with her.

“Geez!! You’re both the worst!” Wakaba huffed.

Again Juri chuckled, but this time it had a bit more sparkle to it. “Lively, and very cute.”

She sputtered as she felt her face flame.

“Speaking of cute,” Anthy spoke up brightly, “Utena, there’s an adorable pet shop I just discovered the other day! Why don’t we go there together and see how they treat their animals?”

“Oh, sounds great! Wakaba, senpai, why don’t we—”

Anthy pulled Utena close and whispered something in her ear. Utena blinked twice as she listened before her eyes widened. She laughed sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her head.

“Ahh, on second thought, me and Himemiya will go by ourselves! Sorry to cut this meet-up short, but you guys were gonna get crêpes anyway, right?”

“True enough,” Juri said neutrally.

“Right…” Wakaba paused, then leaned in close, eyes narrowed. “Utena. Are you trying to _set me up_ , right after I got dumped?” she whispered.

“Uhhhh, ahhhh, uhhhhm—h-hey, Himemiya, we better get going before traffic gets bad!” Utena rushed over to her motorcycle, where Anthy joined her. “Later, guys! Hope you have a lot of fun!”

“Geez,” Wakaba huffed, but with a creeping smile this time. “You guys have fun, too! Bye-bye!”

“By-hy-hyyye,” Anthy lilted, waving. Chuchu waved along with her.

Wakaba waved back as the two of them drove off into the city, Anthy’s arms around Utena’s waist as she rode sidesaddle. Then she took a deep breath and spun around to face Juri. Utena might be a big old busybody, setting her up like this on an attempted rebound, but she really was the sweetest busybody a girl could ask for. Granted, it probably wasn’t going to end up as anything more than crêpes with a gorgeous woman. Still, it was nice to pretend she was about to go on a date.

The look on Juri’s face, though, marred the idea. She too was watching Utena drive off, but with a frown and a steely look in her eyes.

“Juri-san? Um… Is everything okay?” Wakaba asked.

She shook her head, as if casting off whatever thoughts clouded her mind, and smiled at her. “Yes, I’m fine. As I recall, there’s a crêpe cart in this very park. Shall we head over there?”

“S-sure!”

And so they walked in that direction. Temptation insisted Wakaba grab hold of Juri’s arm, but the memory of that look on her face cautioned her to show restraint. Shyness around someone so far out of her league and a still-broken heart chimed in to agree, and so she kept her hands to herself.

The stand wasn’t too far away, as it turned out—just a few turns and several bushes and trees away, and there along another streetside was a cart selling delicious French confections. After a wait in line, Wakaba ordered strawberry with extra whipped cream while Juri got chocolate banana. As they waited for the cart stand worker to make their orders, Wakaba walked off to one side, hands folded behind her back. She opened her mouth to speak, but Juri did the same at the same moment, and they both paused as they interrupted the other. Giggling a heartbeat or two later helped cut the tension.

“Sorry, you go first,” Wakaba offered.

Juri nodded. “I wanted to apologize. It seems Tenjou’s up to her meddling again.”

This jarred Wakaba. “Huh? What d’you mean?”

She sighed noiselessly. “You hadn’t noticed…? Upon learning that we’ve both recently had a break-up, she conveniently decides to go off with her girlfriend and leave us alone together. In short, she’s trying to set us up on a date.”

Wakaba’s face flamed again. Come to think, if it was transparent to _her_ , of course it’d be transparent to Juri. “O-oh. Yeah, I did notice…”

“Ah, good to hear. Please don’t misunderstand—I don’t mind having a crêpe with you, since you did me a good turn. Her tendency to stick her nose in where it doesn’t belong has long irritated me, though.”

“O- _oh_ ,” she stammered again. The meaning of that steely look suddenly made itself clear.

“It must be annoying to you too, given that you’re in the same position,” she added, strangely sympathetic. “No doubt she tried to tell you on and on that you should just get over your old beau and find someone new.”

Wakaba scratched her cheek and tilted her head. “Well… yeah…” And it _had_ been annoying at the time, but…

“So I’m sorry. It’s bad enough for both of us to have to deal with rejection without someone like her trying to force us into a rebound.” Juri shook her head, her scowl staging a comeback. “Honestly, that Tenjou… She’s insufferable. I wish she’d learn to read the room properly sometime.”

“H-hey!” Wakaba shot to her feet, hands clenched. “Utena might be dense sometimes, but she’s got a good heart! She was trying to do something nice for both of us, so why don’t you lay off her already?”

Juri blinked at her in open surprise. “Pardon?”

“Yeah, sure, she can be a meddler, and sure, it got on my nerves earlier…” Wakaba took a deep breath, then stomped a foot. “B-but she did it because she wanted us to be happy! So I won’t just sit back and let you bad-mouth her!”

Juri stared at Wakaba a moment longer. Then, for some reason, she broke into a laugh, cheeks rosy as she brought a hand to her smile. “You’re right. Forgive me. It was in poor form for me to speak ill of your best friend.” She crossed her legs and gazed out at the greenery that surrounded them. “I do know Tenjou is well-intended. That doesn’t stop her from infuriating me—but that’s my own issue.” She smiled over at Wakaba. “More importantly, for you to jump to her defense even when you’re mad at her too… You’re a true friend, and a good person. I admire that about you, Wakaba-kun.”

Wakaba’s soul nearly left her body as her whole body seemed to light on fire. “O-oh, it’s nothing, really…”

“It’s far more than you think. I had a terrible, toxic friendship growing up… I cared about her dearly, but we kept tearing each other down. We’ve made amends since then, but… it seems I still don’t know how to cherish my relationships properly.” Her smile turned rueful, even—as Anthy had put it—melancholic.

For a moment, Wakaba said nothing. She couldn’t; her throat had closed up. Then, with an exaggerated swing of her arms, she cleared her throat and planted her hands on her hips. “Th-then you’re in luck, Juri-san! For today only, you’ve got an ultra-special opportunity to make friends with _the_ Shinohara Wakaba, professional best friend and cheerleader!” She winked and held up a finger. “I’ll teach you how to cherish folks properly in no time!”

Juri broke into another laugh. God, she was gorgeous. Her warm, rosy skin, her full, soft-looking lips, the sway of her curls and ringlets… She couldn’t be more gorgeous if she were literally framed in flowers. “Perhaps you’re right. They _do_ say that when you fall off the horse, you need to get right back on again,” she agreed, eyes twinkling. “I’ll take you up on that, then, Wakaba-kun. Or should I call you ‘sensei’?”

“J-just Wakaba is fine! And… maybe I can call you just Juri?” she offered, grinning. As certain as she was that she looked absolutely goofy, she couldn’t make herself stop.

“You’re bold… But I don’t mind that. Maybe a bit of boldness is what I need… Wakaba.”

 _Swoon_. Wakaba clutched her chest to keep from actually swooning. “Th-then I’ll be bold enough for both of us, Juri-sa—I mean, Juri!”

Juri’s smile deepened, and so too did the crinkles at the corners of her eyes. Maybe Utena had blatantly set the two of them up together when she saw an opportunity, and maybe Utena wasn’t sympathetic to Wakaba’s romantic woes, but there was no way she could be mad about that now. Maybe she _was_ rebounding, but… they could start as friends first. And maybe, after that… they’d see.

The crêpe maker called their names then. Juri looked up and stood. “Ah, those are our orders. Shall we?”

Wakaba hopped to her feet. “Yeah! Let’s shall!”

Juri laughed again, and Wakaba laughed with her. Already she felt much better with Juri than she did her ex-boyfriend—like they were laughing together, rather than Juri laughing at her. When temptation renewed its plea, Wakaba boldly wrapped an arm around Juri’s, and the beautiful older woman let her. As they strolled through the park and ate their crêpes together, chatting about everything and nothing, Wakaba cheerfully mused that this summer day really was glorious after all.


End file.
